Simmons kept coming forward in all of the rounds but was seldom effective enough to win rounds by a clear margin. Gevor boxed well on the move and scored with clean punches - but too few of them to give him a clear advantage - and all in all it became a very close fight with little between them.

Simmons came in on ten days notice for the injured Mirko Larghetti but was in a tremendous shape and with more speed he would have won it. Gevor showed good moves, but almost did too much of them and tended to pose. He won though, but will need a few fights more before being ready for the very best at cruiserweight.

IN OTHER NEWS: Fighting in his hometown of Philadelphia for the first time in three years, junior lightweight contender Tevin Farmer (22-4-1, 5 KOs) will challenge Orlando Rizo (19-7, 11 KOs) this evening in a battle of southpaws at 2300 Arena.

On Sunday, October 16, Farmer will be honored at the Ninth Annual Briscoe Awards, held at XFINITY Live! in Philadelphia for his 2015 winning performance against the 30-2 former world title challenger Daulis Prescott. On August 8 last year, Farmer dropped Prescott three times over eight frames to earn a knockout victory, in a bout televised by HBO Latino. The Briscoe Awards previously recognized Farmer as the "Breakout Fighter of the Year" in 2013 at the outset of his career transformation.

"I'm happy to be fighting in front of my fans, friends and family and those in Philadelphia who may have never seen me live before," said Farmer. "Three years ago, I was a club fighter and now I am a world class contender. I can't wait to show my city how much I have improved. I love my city and my city loves me.

"I'm honored to be receiving the Briscoe Award on Sunday for my fight against Prescott," Farmer continued. "There were a lot of great performances by Philadelphians last year. Prescott was a tough fighter. I demonstrated my skills early on then showed that I could knock people out in the later rounds."

"Tevin Farmer's story is an inspiring one," said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. "To bring himself from journeyman status to now being considered a potential world title challenger is truly remarkable. Tonight, he will show his hometown fans how far he has come in the last three years, and I will continue to work hard to make his world title dream a reality."